Battle of Yijing

The Battle of Yijing was the decisive battle of the wars between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, fought in March 199 AD in Hebei. Yuan Shao and his army laid siege to Gongsun Zan at his fortress of Yijing, where they set fire to his tower. Gongsun Zan killed his family before hanging himself as his tower burnt to ashes, and Yuan Shao added the remnants of the vanquished army to his own, becoming the lord of northern China.

Background
The Bohai warlord Yuan Shao and the Liaodong warlord Gongsun Zan were once close allies during the alliance against Dong Zhuo, and they had similar flamboyant and aristocratic personalities. However, they became rivals in 192 AD after Yuan Shao tricked Gongsun Zan into attacking Ji Province so that Jizhou ruler Han Fu would invite Yuan Shao to take over the entire province in order to defend it. The two sides fought to a draw at the Battle of Jieqiao, and they made peace shortly after. The two warlords skirmished several times over the years, however, and Gongsun Zan soon built a fortress at Yijing Tower, where he placed all 100,000 carts of grain which his army possessed. Yuan Shao's forces began to besiege him at Yijing in 198, as Yuan Shao hoped to finally defeat his rival and become the ruler of northern China.

Battle
Yuan Shao and his army, including 100,000 Wuhuan and Xiongnu troops and 7,000 Xianbei cavalry, laid siege to Yijing, which was defended by Gongsun Zan's army and over 100,000 of Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Bandits. Gongsun Zan's units alternated between attacking the enemy and resting within the castle, and, when one unit asked for his assistance, Gongsun Zan refused to send aid, as he did not wish to set a precedent under which he would always come to the rescue. This led to many of his soldiers deserting to Yuan Shao's army, and, when he arranged a two-pronged attack on Yuan Shao with Zhang Yan, his letters found their way into the hands of the enemy. Yuan Shao ambushed and slaughtered Gongsun Zan's army, and he was forced to retreat into the city. Yuan Shao's troops tunnelled under his tower and set it on fire, and the trapped Gongsun Zan slew his wife and children and hanged himself as the tower burned to the ground. The flames destroyed the bodies of his whole family, and Yuan Shao incorporated the remnants of his army and his territories into his own.